


Miraculous Ladybug Steampunk AU!

by Aclahayr



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 12:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6657703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aclahayr/pseuds/Aclahayr





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette leaned back into her chair and sighed. The design she was working on wasn’t working out. She crumpled the paper, tossing it into the overflowing recycling bin. Realizing that she would have to make a trip to the designated recycling ships soon (or else risk getting fined for uncleanliness again), she emptied the contents of the bin into a bag. She put on the hat that her parents had given to her as a farewell present,  and set out to dispose of the recycling.

Living alone was so hard, but Marinette had to move away from her parents to attend university since commuting two hours every day through heavy air traffic was not something she ever wanted to do. Between taking care of herself, finding food to eat, and making sure her living space was sanitary, she had never realized how difficult it was to balance all of these things before she started living by herself.  _ I’ll have to start helping Mom around the house more,  _ she mused as she traversed the walkway that separated her residency-ship from the community recycle-ship.

It was night-time, and the lights in the area had needed to be replaced for months, making the path even darker. The reason why Marinette never wanted to throw away the recycling was because the route was creepy as hell--whoever designed the walkway towards the recycle-ship also had extremely poor taste, adding in nooks and crannies where potential muggers and petty thieves could hide. There were even rumours that a small child had been murdered on the walkway, and that her ghost still haunted the area. Marinette shuddered.  _ Stop thinking about it, stuff like that wouldn’t happen to you. You’re just a small half-Asian, half-White girl whose most-prized possession is a mini-sewing kit. No one is going to think you’re worth stealing anything from. No ghost is going to want to haunt you either. _

**_Creak._ **

Marinette immediately shot towards the closest support pillar and hid behind it, her hat falling off in front due to her panic.  _ Oh my god. Anything but the ghost. Please. _ Sweat immediately started pouring down her back and her body began to shake against her mind’s will.

**_Creak. Creak. Creeaak._ **

A dark shadow loomed in the light in front of Marinette, slowly growing closer before it stopped next to the pillar and began to walk around it. Marinette’s voice left her body with a squeak. A small red-haired girl with a red dress dotted with black appeared.

_ “Hi Marinette! My name is Tikki!” _

The small girl suddenly gave Marinette a big hug. Marinette almost cried from relief of not having her life ended.

_ “There is a big threat coming to Neo-Paris soon! And I think you’re a great candidate for this great thing that’s pretty great! Hey hey, do you want to become a superhero and save Neo-Paris?” _

Marinette’s head tilted to one side in confusion. “Sorry, become a superhero?”

_ “Yes! A superhero! Just take this little pouch. If you see something bad, push the button, and you’ll become Ladybug!” _

Tikki pushed said small pouch into Marinette’s hand, picked up Marinette’s hat and placed it back on her head, and merrily skipped away with the recycling bag that previously lay abandoned on the ground. Still in shock, Marinette slowly stood up and dropped the pouch into her handbag.  _ I’m not quite sure about what’s going on, but...this is fine. _

When Marinette returned home, she collapsed back onto her bed. University tomorrow beckoned, and the fright of “Tikki” had drained all of her energy. She closed her eyes, and welcomed the blissful feeling of darkness that accompanied sleep.

//

Marinette awoke to the sounds of the morning siren splitting the air. She groaned and rolled off her bed, knowing that if she didn’t get up now, she wouldn’t be able to get ready in time for her first class. She mechanically went through her morning routine, grabbed her handbag, and ran out for breakfast at the food-ship next to the university she attended.

Marinette always left an hour earlier than what she expected she needed, simply because of all of the unfortunate things she encountered on the way to class. Usually it was traffic that held her up. Sometimes, she would somehow trip over herself and miss the shuttle. There was always some sort of misfortune that would stall her and make her late if she wasn’t extremely early all of the time. This time however, she managed to make it to her university without any inconveniences. Amazed, albeit bored and with an hour to burn, Marinette decided to explore the campus of the city.

She ended up in the university’s courtyard under the reconstruction of the Eiffel Tower. Marinette always managed to wander into this area when she needed to be alone and just think of designs, but she had never been here this early. There was no one around, so Marinette decided to just close her eyes and listen to the wind whistling through the openings in the Tower.

The wind sounded like the birdsong that would filter through the floating city when the flocks came to rest. The effect allowed Marinette to relax and lose herself in the beauty of architecture. She smiled dreamily and leaned her head back.

“Hi, excuse me!”

A male voice shattered Marinette’s reverie as she snapped her eyes open and spun around to identify its owner. There was only one other person in the courtyard; it was a man with gentle green eyes, wearing clothes that she vaguely remembered fawning over in a fashion magazine not too long ago. His blonde hair was framed by a set of goggles that was becoming popular with the Neo-Parisian males.

_ He’s actually pretty cute _ , Marinette thought, as heat began to creep into her cheeks.

“Sorry, I was just wondering if you knew where the classroom for Fashion Design was. I’m a new transfer to the school. My name is Adrien.” Adrien smiled and ruffled the back of his head with his hand.

And it was met with an awkward silence.

_ Did I say something wrong? _ Adrien suddenly became extremely concerned with the girl that was staring blankly at him. He cleared his throat hesitantly, and the girl suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Oh, y-yes, sorry, hi, I’m Marinette, uh, actually, I’m in that class too so, uh, I can take you to the class if you um, would like that?” Marinette stammered out her reply and internally screamed as she realized she had been admiring him for a bit too long. His name was Adrien? As in her favorite model in her favorite magazine??? And he looked exactly like him????? She shook her head.  _ This is too much of a coincidence. There’s no way Adrien would be here at this school. No way! _

“Yes, I would appreciate being taken to class. There’s nothing better than having a cute girl escort me around anyways.” Adrien winked and laughed to himself.  _ All girls like being complimented right? I really hope what I read in that magazine last night is true. _

Again, he was met with an awkward silence.

Adrien looked at the girl whose face was now completely red and wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Haha! Um, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you... I’ll give you some space now, so I’ll see you in class later maybe, Marinette!”

Adrien hurriedly left, feeling warmth rush into his cheeks as well. How could he have messed up his first encounter with somebody on his first day of university? The shame gave him the motivation to find a map of the school, and after much struggle he eventually found the class on his own. He found an empty seat in the front and sat down, completely distraught with how his luck was going today.  _ Usually I have decent luck. Maybe I’m just not lucky when it comes to socializing with people _ .  _ Thanks Father.  _ Adrien buried his face in his hands.  _ Hopefully things will get better _ .

Marinette, on the other hand, stood dazed in the courtyard until other students finally came and began populating the area. As she began the walk to class, the only thing she could think about was how lucky she was today.  _ First it was not being delayed in coming to school, and now it was having Actual Model Adrien introduce himself. Today could not get any better! _

She walked into the room, saw Adrien’s blonde hair buried in his hands, and promptly walked out.

_ Right. He’s in my fashion class. _ Marinette’s face turned red once more. She opened the door again and tripped upon entering, making a loud squawk as she fell. _ There’s the luck I expected _ , she thought as she felt her body quickly tilt downward.

Adrien noticed the door opening and closing rapidly and curiously looked up to see if it was another student that was new to the class like he was, trying to muster up courage to enter the classroom. Instead, he saw Marinette flying towards the ground, and threw himself instinctively at the girl in an attempt to save her.

Lights flickered in his eyes as his head slammed into the ground, but he felt the soft body of Marinette land on top of him and sighed in relief. At least he had managed to save her. He looked up at her face, which was extremely red again, and looked at the position that they had landed in. Her head was in his chest, and her legs were straddled across his legs. 

Needless to say, the position was quite an erotic experience for both of them.

Marinette jumped off of Adrien faster than he thought was possible, grabbing her hat off the ground while stuttering, “Ah, I’m, uh, sorry for, uh, making you do that, Adrien,” and quickly ran off into the back corner of the classroom. She hid her face in her hat, her heart racing.

_ Oh my god. I just got to straddle Adrien. My life is ending. There is no way all of this good luck is going to not be brought back on me as bad luck. What happened. Why am I so lucky today? _

Adrien too was hiding his face in his desk, his heart racing.

_ Oh my god. I just made a girl straddle me on my first day of school. My life is ending. Is this the cumulation of eighteen years of bad luck hitting me all at once? What is going on. Why am I so unlucky today? _

With this, class began, and neither of the two were able to focus because of the day’s events. Marinette was usually able to pay attention in class because of her love for fashion design. Today was different though. She spent the class admiring the back of Adrien’s well-kept blonde hair, imagining the various other positions that she could accidentally land with him.

Poor Adrien was sincerely praying that no one else in the class had seen his slip and fall onto Marinette. He spent the class thinking of the various ways he could apologize to Marinette in order to make her feel more at ease. Besides, the curriculum the teacher was teaching him he had already learned from basic modeling classes and his father’s tutoring.

“We’re going to move onto color coordination now. Look at these flight attendants’ outfits. These are classical examples of an incorrect way of matching colors. You should never place magenta and red next to each other, no matter how avant-garde you think it is-”

**_Shatter_ ** .

Silence.

**_Crash!_ **

The general emergency siren began blaring, and the class became deadly silent.

_ “This is an emergency broadcast. There is a heavily armed and dangerous man on Ship U6. I repeat. There is a heavily armed and dangerous man on Ship U6. Any students and faculty remaining on the ship are advised to evacuate immediately. _

Screams split the air as all of the students in the room scrambled to flee. A classmate knocked Marinette and her handbag over in a frenzied panic to leave the room. The small pouch that Tikki had given her rolled out of her handbag. Marinette had completely forgotten about the gift due to her exhaustion and the events of the day. She picked it up.  _ I doubt I’ll need to do anything. The police should be able to handle this, right? _

**_Crack. Crack. Boom!_ **

A man broke through the window and landed in the classroom in front of Marinette. His face was bruised and battered, the helmet on his head split in half. His police uniform was heavily charred, and the steam-powered rifle he had was shattered in three pieces.

_ Okay. So maybe the police  _ aren’t _ prepared for whoever this guy is. _

Marinette peeked through the broken window and saw a man clad in bronze outside, ripping apart the Eiffel tower and throwing the scraps at the policemen that scurried around him. The bullets the policemen retaliated with bounced off the metallic shell that the man was encased in.

_ “I AM THE BRONZE FORTRESS. I AM THE MAN THAT PROTECTS HAWKMOTH’S DREAMS. MY DEFENSES WILL NEVER BE PENETRATED.” _

The Bronze Fortress’s roar deafened Marinette, and she watched with dread as he launched himself to another ship.

Marinette’s palms became sweaty as anxiety set in, and she realized that the damage the “Bronze Fortress” could do to Neo-Paris might be irreparable. 

“Greetings, my princess!”

A charismatic voice that sounded much like a cat’s purring floated in from behind Marinette. She turned around and found a man that that was clad in black, save for the white collared shirt underneath his black jacket. The most odd part of his outfit was not the long belt that extended out, or the fact that he actually wore goggles. It was the cat ears that were perched on the top of his head.

“Uh… who are you?” Marinette attempted to mask her disdain for the cat ears.

“I am Chat Noir, my lady. I have come here to advise you to evacuate the area. I will deal with the criminal, and save you and your fellow citizens.” Chat Noir leapt through the window, turned around and winked at Marinette. He proceeded to acrobatically navigate his way towards the path of destruction that the Bronze Fortress was making.

Marinette stared in the direction that the two figures were heading in for a bit, and realized where that led to. 

_ My parents live in that direction. I need to protect them! _

She grabbed the pouch and her handbag, jumped through the window, and began to run.

_ “You know, it would be much easier to get there and save your parents if you just transformed into Ladybug!” _

Tikki made a sudden reappearance next to Marinette, happily skipping and somehow keeping up with Marinette’s desperate pace.

“I don’t know what transformation means, Tikki! I don’t even know if it’s possible to transform!”

_ “Marinette, anything is possible if you just believe in yourself! At the current pace you’re running, you won’t catch up with the Bronze Fortress and rescue the citizens on your parent’s residency-ship. Just trust me, and yourself, and you can save everyone!” _

Marinette stopped running and opened the pouch that Tikki gave her. There was a red orb-shaped pendant along with a red armband. She looked down upon the small redhead girl who called herself Tikki, cheerfully smiling with an expectant smile on her face.

_ “Alright Marinette! Just push the small button on that pendant, and you’ll become Ladybug!” _

Marinette looked back the destruction that the Bronze Fortress had already caused,  steeled her nerves, and pushed the button. She didn’t want her parents or anyone else to be injured by that madman. 

_ “I’m glad you made up your mind!” _

There was a brilliant flash of light and a rush of steam that made Marinette close her eyes in shock. She felt fabric and metal quickly travel up and down her skin, along with the sound of a clock winding up. There was a rush of heat, and she felt her hair tie up into a ponytail, and her hat lift off of her head. The light and steam finally faded, and Marinette opened her eyes to immediately notice that something covered her face at eye level, with holes open for her to see. Around her waist was a belt, with a small pouch attached that looked suspiciously like her hat. Her sleeves were no more, and her skirt had become shorts with long leggings. Her boots became smaller, and lost their heels. She looked back into the shiny metal surface for a reflection, revealing someone who looked nothing like Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The something that was around her face appeared to be the armband, with black circles now dotting the red fabric. Even her blouse was altered, growing closer to her neck..

_ Right,  _ Marinette thought to herself,  _ I’m supposed to be Ladybug now. But damn, am I in one fine outfit. I really have to thank Tikki for whoever designed this. Red and black is a hard color scheme to make look good. _

She reached into the pouch to find a yoyo that looked identical to the pendant, except there was now a clock etched onto its red face. She couldn't hold back the smile that began to grow on her face.

_ This is gonna be fun. _

Marinette threw the yoyo towards the nearest support beam and pulled herself towards it, swinging in an arc that felt completely natural. She couldn’t help but shout in excitement as she flew through the air.

Before long, she caught up with Chat Noir, and began running alongside him.

“Hey kitty, distract that wannabe metal turtle, and I’ll rescue the civilians and get them to safety.”

Chat Noir looked surprised for a moment, but nodded. “You got it, my lady. Look lively, I found our metal-head.”

They stopped to see the Bronze Fortress and the police having another stand-off. Chat Noir and Ladybug nodded to each other. Chat Noir charged straight towards the rampaging villain, while Ladybug ran off towards the homes.

“Hey, bronze butt, look over here!” Chat Noir kicked the rather round bronze-clad figure in the head as the man turned his head towards the newcomer, knocking him slightly off-balance.

**_“I AM THE BRONZE FORT-_ ** ”

“Yeah, yeah, already heard it  **_Rusty_ ** , stop talking and put your paws up before I knock them off of you.”

Chat Noir extended the staff that was hooked on his waist, and began to duel with the Bronze Fortress. The solid hits he managed to land barely dented the armor of his opponent, which was more than what the police could say about their bullets.

“Hey! While I’m holding him off, evacuate the residents! The girl that swooped by earlier can’t rescue them all by herself!”

The police, who were just mesmerized by the fight, snapped back into action to rescue the residents.

**_“You should be concerned with the fight at hand!”_ **

The Bronze Fortress swung and managed to land a solid hit to Chat Noir’s chest, sending him flying back towards one of the walls.

_ Alright, that one stung a little _ , thought Chat Noir as he got back up from the hit.  _ Maybe I’ll need to use Cataclysm to burn through his armor. But first, I need to make sure I can actually punch him. I don’t think I’ll be able to use it for long. _

“Hey Kitty! I’ll hold him down, and while I do that, bust his armor open,” Ladybug swung back out of the houses. “The police are in there taking care of the civilians, so I can help you now.” Ladybug began to swing her yoyo at the Bronze Fortress, who nimbly dodged the hits.

“My lady, I think you might need him to slow down a bit. Let me help you for now while you think of a plan, yes?”

Chat Noir threw himself at the Bronze Fortress, and Ladybug paused to think.

_ He’s right, _ Ladybug thought, _ I’m going to need something to slow him down. _

She unconsciously reached into the pouch at her waist, and found a packet of sticky tar.

_ Why is this in here? Oh well, since I got it, this will be extremely helpful. _

“Chat Noir, back off!”

Chat Noir hopped away from the Bronze Fortress as Ladybug threw the tar towards their general direction. The Bronze Fortress was caught in the black goo, and his movement dramatically slowed down. Ladybug threw her yoyo, and managed to bind him in the strings.

“Get him kitty!”

Chat Noir winced a bit.  _ Why does she keep calling me kitty? Ugh. _

“Cataclysm!” Chat Noir shouted, and the claws on his right hand ignited in flame. He charged towards the Bronze Fortress, and punched him squarely through the chest. The bronze was thick and dense, and Chat Noir struggled to push through the metal. By the time he had barely breached the metal, the flames in his glove ran out.

“Back off again, Chat Noir!”

Chat Noir hopped backwards as Ladybug reached into her pouch once again, and threw in a handful of sparkling powder into the hole. There was an explosion and loud hiss, as steam suddenly enveloped the area. When it faded, there was simply a man sitting where the Bronze Fortress was, wearing a security guard’s outfit.

“What. Why am I here, what happened?” The man was extremely dazed as the police rushed outwards.

“Halt! Bronze Fortress, you are under arrest for property damage, injuring police officers, and causing public mayhem.” The police arrested the still dazed man, and walked him away.

Ladybug winked at Chat Noir, and reached into her pouch again, revealing a handful of small ladybug-shaped machines. She tossed them into the air, and they fluttered to life, moving over the destruction and miraculously repairing it. 

“That pouch of yours is extremely handy isn't it…”

“The name is Ladybug,” Ladybug blew a kiss at Chat Noir, “and we’ll see each other again.” Ladybug turned before looking at Chat Noir’s reaction, and swung away.

Chat Noir just stood there stunned, his heart racing a bit faster than what he was used to. He shook his head slowly.  _ A good fashion sense and an air of confidence. That’s a girl I would love to have fall on top of me. Speaking of falling, I still gotta apologize to Marinette for falling on her. I hope she forgives me… _

Chat Noir ran to a corner and detransformed, becoming Adrien once again. He ran back to the university, hoping to catch Marinette, which he did.

“Marinette! I'm so sorry for earlier and falling on top of you and embarrassing you in front of the class.”

Marinette looked at Adrien, her eyes glimmering with fading adrenaline.

“Oh Adrien! That was no problem! Uh, actually, I wouldn't mind uh, bumping into to you later if you want. Could uh, we ever grab some dunch or linner- I MEAN lunch or dinner?!”

Adrien grinned at the girl who started turning a shade of pink once again. Maybe his luck today wasn't so bad after all. He got to beat up some bad guy, and he seemed to be on his way to making his first friend.

“Sure Marinette, I would love to eat with you later. Do you want to eat at the Black Cat Cafe?”

Marinette first winced at the name of the restaurant, then she smiled.

“I would love to go with you!”


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien nervously tapped his foot.  _ What do I say to Marinette? Maybe she thinks I’ve apologized enough.  _ He was at Black Cat Cafe thirty minutes before the planned meeting time so that Marinette wouldn’t get another bad impression if he arrived late.  _ What if she doesn’t even come. What do I do then? _ His thoughts swirled around as his doubts about Marinette’s forgiveness made him slightly paranoid.

The door jingled, and Adrien found Marinette peering around the door, trying to hide herself behind her hat. They made eye contact, and their eyes widened in surprise.

_ Already here? It’s thirty minutes before our meeting time. _

Adrien awkwardly waved Marinette over, and she sheepishly took her seat across from him.

“H-hi! I’ve never been in this area before. Everything looks so nice here.” Marinette managed to compose herself enough to stammer out the opening line that she had been practicing while walking over.

“Oh, yeah! This place is in-between school and my home. I live in the front-side of Neo-Paris.”

Marinette’s face went a bit slack at that statement. The front-side of Neo-Paris was where the richest of the population resided in. Her family was pretty well off themselves, being at the front of the middle class. In fact, her father often sold bakery goods to the most successful fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste. Marinette had a few fond memories of “Gabby” showing her the newest designs when she was younger. In fact, he was the main reason why she wanted to become a fashion designer. In the recent past however, Mr. Agreste had become much busier and never talked much, except to her father for the bakery goods he was buying. 

“Hey Marinette, are you okay?”

Marinette snapped back to reality, finding Adrien’s concerned face staring right at her. Her face began to burn.

“Oh yeah! I’m fine! Shall we, uh, order some food?” Marinette hid her face behind the menu so that Adrien wouldn’t be able to see more of her blush. She examined the menu, taking note of the plethora of cartoon-y black cats that dotted it. She deadpanned.  _ Why are there so many cat puns? Meowcaroni and Cheese? Meat Lasagnya? Wait… Does that say Catser Salad? That one is a bit of a stretch… _

Marinette poked over the menu, and saw a boyishly grinning Adrien staring at the menu, a childish twinkle lighting up his eyes. She couldn’t help but smile as well.  _ Well, this restaurant isn’t too bad I guess. _

“Hello-nya~! Mya I take your order-nya~?” A female waiter wearing a black with black cat ears walked up.

_ I’ll have to take that thought back. _

Marinette and Adrien left the Black Cat Cafe with fuller stomachs, and an increased knowledge of terrible cat puns. Marinette grew more relaxed - something that Adrien noticed (while blessing his ancestors) - and was able to talk to Adrien without stammering anymore.

“This dinner was really fun. I enjoyed it a lot!” Marinette walked to the side of the walkway, looking off the side of the floating ship. Neo-Paris was currently soaring over a river, and the evening light glinted golden off the water. The glow illuminated Marinette’s face, and Adrien felt his heart skip a beat.

“Hey Marinette, do you want to to come to the Fashion District with me?” Adrien felt a sudden desire to spend more time with this small girl, and his mouth moved before his brain could fully think of what to say.

Marinette’s mind went blank with excitement as she immediately said yes, and before she knew it, she and Adrien were on a transport shuttle to the front of Neo-Paris.

They rode in silence for a while, until a sudden thought popped into Marinette’s head.

“Adrien, what does your family do?”

A dark look was suddenly cast over Adrien’s face, and Marinette was afraid that she had asked a terrible question.

“Well, my father dabbles in the fashion industry, and my mother disappeared a few months ago. We have no idea where she went, but Father says that he’s looking for her.”

“Oh… I’m sorry for asking…”

“No, it’s okay. It’s only natural that you would ask me about my parents eventually. I do live in the most expensive area in the town.” Adrien reassuringly smiled at Marinette, but under that smile, Marinette thought she could see a hint of bitterness.

“It looks like we’re here!” The cheery tone had returned to Adrien’s voice, and he got off the transport shuttle and presented his hand to Marinette for her to help herself off.

Marinette took his hand, blush returning to her cheeks once again, and got off the shuttle.

She didn’t let go of his hand until they got to the stores. At that point, Marinette couldn’t contain her excitement, and ran around, browsing every section of the shops on either side of the street. 

They explored every store the Fashion District had to offer. When Adrien saw Marinette’s face lighting up in desire over outfits, he would sneakily whisper to the employee’s ears to put them on his tab. At the end of the night, Adrien had spent the equivalent of their entire college tuition.  _ Oh well, _ Adrien thought, _ She’ll never have to know about the cost. Or the fact that I was the one who bought the outfits. I’ll find her address eventually. _

“Wow, I never thought the Fashion District had so many stores. I would have to sell so many designs just to buy one of these dresses. This place is amazing!” Marinette and Adrien ended up in a small garden in the middle of the Fashion District. Adrien sat down in the grass and winked at Marinette, patting his lap. 

To his surprise, Marinette took off her hat and laid down on his lap. She looked up at his face, framed by the night sky, and winked back at him.

“That’s for making me straddle you at school.”

“Uh huh, fair enough.” Adrien heavily blushed, and also looked into the night sky, enjoying the pressure of the her head on his lap.

_ This moment. I wish it could last forever. _

**_Shatter._ **

**_“I am Hawkmoth. I have come for the main powercore of the flying city of Neo-Paris. Comply with my demands, and everyone will be safe. Disobey me, and I will forcefully seize the main powercore. “_ **

The metallic male voice echoed throughout the Fashion District, ringing in the couple’s ears. Marinette and Adrien both immediately shot up and looked at each other.

**_Boom._ **

**_Gunfire._ **

“Uh, I should send you back. So you can be safe.” Adrien grabbed Marinette by the hand, and began dragging her towards the transport shuttle station.

_ I need to get away from Adrien and transform, so I can protect him and the city. _

Marinette pulled away from Adrien.

“I need to go to the restroom really quickly. Wait here, I promise I’ll be careful and come back.”

She bolted away, and Adrien reached out to grab her again when-

**_Booom!_ **

Sections of the pillar above them fell between the gap that Marinette had created.

“MARINETTE!”

There was silence as the dust settled from the impact. Adrien saw the brown hat that belonged to Marinette floating in the air.

A small hand flew out and snatched it out of the air.

“I’m fine! Don’t worry, I’ll get back safely!”

Adrien let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at school, okay?”

Marinette nodded, waving goodbye and running off.

_ Alright, well that solves the first problem. _ Adrien ran behind the pillar and made sure that no one was around.

Adrien pulled down the goggles that rested on his head.

_ Well, here goes nothing _ . Adrien pushed the button.

There was a rush of steam that surrounded him, along with a flash of bright light that made him instinctively close his eyes. He felt clothes and metal shifting on his skin. The steam faded, and Adrien opened his eyes. He felt the familiar weight on his head, and checked the hand-mirror that was always in his pocket whenever he transformed. The goggles perched on his face were pitch black, save for the green lenses, which made his eyes seem more catty. He could never get used to that. He twitched the black cat ears on his head. His clothes had also completely changed. No more were the uncomfortable aristocratic clothes that his father made him wear in order to impress his suitors. He was glad to be back in the comfortable shirt that came with the transformation, even though it revealed a slightly uncomfortable amount of skin. He also loved the sleek, black leather jacket that covered him, as well as the metallic claws that were mounted on his gloves. His boots and pants were black, and much more loose than the ones he had on earlier. His belt was also black, with a silver baton hooked on it. He ruffled his hair and examined himself in the mirror.

_ I think I understand why Plagg left this mirror for me. I look damn good, as usual. _

He winked at himself at the mirror, and put it away.

_ Alright, where to go? _

Chat Noir paused to focus on his surroundings and the faint echo of police officers screaming in pain floated into his ears. He stretched and ran towards the sound of the noise.

The sight that he was greeted with wasn’t very pretty.

There was a large hot-air balloon that floated off the side of the ship, a silhouette of a man standing inside of its basket. Four figures stood near it on the deck of the Fashion District, the unconscious bodies of various police officers scattered around them.

**_“Behold what happens when you fail to comply with my demands. You will become like these police officers. Futile and powerless before my strength!”_ **

Ladybug landed next to Chat Noir, making him jump a little in surprise.

“What’s the situation here, kitty?” Ladybug got straight to the point.

“Well, our patriotic policemen are on the ground around what seem to be four souped-up and crazy people that seem like Bronze Fortress from the other day. The man in the hot-air balloon seems to be the source of the voice that’s echoing around, so I’m pretty sure he’s the main guy.”

“Hm. Bronze Fortress wasn’t too tough to beat, but he was alone. I think we need to test the waters and find out what all of them can do. Hey boys! Show me your moves!” Ladybug jumped out and threw her yoyo to provoke the villains. Chat Noir leaped after her.

The yoyo bounced back with a gust of wind.

_ “I am the Zephyr! I deflect all threats that endanger Hawkmoth!” _

The smallest of the figures stepped forward. His outfit was normal, except for the fans that rested on his forearms.

Another one of the figures stepped forward.

_ “I am the Nike! I ensure that Hawkmoth will always be charging towards victory!” _

Nike’s outfit was a bit more bizarre, wearing a skintight yellow tracksuit, with the most notable feature being his neon yellow shoes.

_ “I am the Damascus! I swing the weapon that crushes Hawkmoth’s enemies!” _

Damascus was clad in armor that protected his arms and legs. His chest was fairly exposed, showing bulging muscles. He carried a gigantic warhammer that had a set of pipes on either sides of the head.

“Wow. Chat Noir, do you have muscles like that under your outfit?” Ladybug poked Chat Noir’s arms. “Huh. You actually do have some muscle mass, hmm?”

“After this battle, I can give you a free viewing.”

“Okay. No thanks.”

_ “Ahem.” _

“Oh sorry, please continue with the introductions.” Chat Noir motioned to the last figure.

_ “I am the Iron Fortress! I-” _

“Yes, yes. You protect Hawkmoth’s dreams and such yes? We already heard about it from your predecessor, Bronze Fortress. Thanks for tell us what you can do though, this makes this fight much easier.”

_ “But you didn’t even let me-” _

Ladybug’s yoyo flew towards the Iron Fortress, and Chat Noir charged towards him.

This time, the gust of wind blew Chat Noir off his feet, and the yoyo was deflected by Damascus’s hammer.

Ladybug quickly manipulated her yoyo to pull Chat Noir back towards her before Nike slammed his feet into the ground that he was just lying on.

“Thanks, my lady. I almost had a few premature hairballs kicked out of me.”

“No, that one was my fault. I thought taking down the Iron Fortress was going to be an easy task. We’ll probably need to split them up and take them out one by one.”

“Or we could lead them away from the hot-air balloon and take out the main man himself.”

“I don’t know how well that’s going to work, but if you think you can get there while I distract him, we can try it.”

“Alright. Let’s try to split them up, and then I’ll try to sneak in and get the boss.”

Ladybug swung her yoyo at Zephyr again, which was once again deflected by the gust of wind. She now knew that the source of that wind came from the fans on his arms.

“Hey, Breezy! I bet you could sweep me off my feet like you swept the kitty’s. Come get me!”

Ladybug kept swinging at Zephyr while beginning to walk away from Chat Noir, and Zephyr continued to deflect the strikes.

_ “Nike, can we take her out? Her little toy is starting to annoy me.” _

Zephyr and Nike started charging towards Ladybug, with Nike moving much faster than Zephyr.

“Alright Chat Noir, it’s all up to you now!”

Ladybug swung into the air, confident in her ability to outrun the people chasing her. She found the garden that she and Adrien were in earlier and turned around. Only Nike was there.

_ “Zephyr isn’t meant for chasing. He’ll be here eventually, but I know that I’m more than enough for your childish toy.” _

Ladybug grinned. This was going better than expected already.

“Are you sure you can catch me without that breeze helping you out?”

Nike’s eyebrow twitched and he ran at Ladybug. Ladybug kept an eye out to see what exactly Nike’s special equipment was. Nike went for a flying kick at Ladybug’s head, and she ducked under it. Nike’s shoes (lmao) had steam spewing out from small vents on its side.

_ Alright, his shoes are like my yoyo. If I can just get them off, he’ll be useless. _

Nike landed, growled a bit, and went for another kick for Ladybug, this time spinning a bit for some added velocity. Ladybug spun her yoyo and ducked under Nike’s foot again, this time wrapping her yoyo around Nike’s shoe and pulling hard over her shoulder.

_ “Agh!” _

Nike flew straight forwards, his shoe popping off in the loop that Ladybug had made, and landed right into the ground.

“I guess you should’ve tied your shoelaces before running around, huh?”

_ “You insect, give me my shoe back!” _

Nike ran towards Ladybug again, noticeably slower this time. He jumped and kicked out with the other shoe, furiously spinning as the steam made a complete circle. Ladybug reached into her pouch, and grabbed a handful of the “cleansing” powder that Tikki had left there. She wrapped the yoyo’s string around her hand for support and caught Nike’s kick, the powder splashing around Nike. 

There was a blast of steam as Nike detransformed, exactly like Bronze Fortress had, into a normal civilian, who lay dazed and confused on the floor. Ladybug shook her hand to relieve the stinging.  _ Geez, I’m glad this string is really strong, or else I would’ve ended up with two shattered hands and maybe a broken face. _

_ “WHAT… wheeze … HAVE YOU DONE  … wheeze … TO NIKE?” _

Zephyr put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

“Boop!” Ladybug smacked Zephyr across the face with some more cleansing powder, the rush of steam signifying another successful detransformation.

“Looks like you lost your wind there, huh buddy?” Ladybug said with a smirk to the second civilian that was dazed on the ground, patting the top of his head.

“Sorry… what?” The civilian looked up at Ladybug’s face, eyes wide in confusion.

“Oh, uh. Don’t worry about it. Grab that guy and get to safety!”

Ladybug jumped away, running back towards the area where she had left Chat Noir. There were no sounds of fighting.  _ Please, I hope you beat them without me. _

She saw Iron Fortress and Damascus unconscious on the ground. It looked like Chat Noir had baited Damascus into swinging his hammer into Iron Fortress’s helmet, knocking him out, and then smacking Damascus and knocking him out as well.

_ Not bad. _ Ladybug thought to herself as she tossed more handfuls of cleansing powder onto the unconscious villains.

There was a sudden flash of purple light and steam from the hot-air balloon. Marinette’s head shot up and immediately her heart fell to her feet.  _ Chat Noir! _

Out of the dissipating steam walked out Chat Noir, but in a different outfit. His black-themed outfit was now streaked with purple, and his goggles were tinted red. There were tear streaks down his cheeks, as if he had been crying.

_ “Don’t stop me Ladybug. I’m going to help my father find my mother.” _

“What do you mean? Hawkmoth is going to destroy Neo-Paris!”

_ “No Ladybug, you don’t understand. I’ve been looking for my mother for months now. Do you know how it feels to be looking at the door to my house, always waiting for your mother to one day walk through it? You. Don’t. Understand.” _

Ladybug’s thoughts began to race. Where had she heard this story before? There was no way that... 

“Adrien?”

_ “No, Ladybug. There is no Adrien here anymore. There is only Chat Violet. I will defeat you, and seize the main power-core to save my mother! CATACLYSM!” _

Chat Violet’s hand lit up in a purple flame, painting his face in cruel shadows.

_ “If you care about Adrien and his mother, you will back away now. If you don’t, you will forfeit your life.” _

“No, Adrien. I can’t let you fall for Hawkmoth’s corruption! Please, snap out of it.”

_ “Your life it is.” _

Chat Violet charged at Ladybug, bringing his flaming fist back in preparation to punch her.

Ladybug detransformed, ran forward, and threw her arms around Chat Violet, severely burning the upper part of her arm due to the fire. She cried out, the fire cutting right through her sleeve and the pain shooting across her entire body. Her vision sparked from the intense heat that began to swarm over her, but she managed to hang on. She felt Chat Violet’s muscles begin to flex, and she closed her eyes and tightened her grip in anticipation.

_ Please come back, Adrien! _

**_“Chat Violet, stop at once!”_ **

Hawkmoth’s panicked voice shot out from the hot-air balloon, and Marinette felt Chat Violet’s muscles relax. The heat from the flame disappeared, but the pain from the burn made her grip him even harder, looking for some comfort. She looked up towards the hot-air balloon, and saw an extremely familiar face running towards her.

“G-Gabby?”

“Marinette, I am so sorry. I never expected you to get caught up in this. Chat Violet, detransform immediately!”

Marinette felt the steam from the detransformation flow over her and Adrien’s body go limp in her arms. She felt her strength leave her body as well, and she collapsed to the ground with Adrien still in her arms, now crying freely from the pain of the burn.

Gabriel Agreste embraced her and his son in his arms, holding back tears of shame.

//

Adrien woke up in his bed. He felt a familiar pressure on his legs and looked over to see Marinette sleeping over him. He noticed a new armband on her right arm around her sleeves. He reached over to stroke it, noticing the heat that emanated from it.

_ What happened last night… All I remember is feeling bitter when I saw Father after I ripped off Hawkmoth’s mask.  _

The door swung open and his dad walked in. 

“So Adrien, I didn’t know you and the baker’s daughter were dating now.”

Marinette snapped into an upright position at Gabriel’s voice, her expression blank with surprise at the content of his words. 

“Father. If you told me you were going to stoop as low as stealing the main power-core for Neo-Paris to save mother, I would have stopped you way before you did what you did.”

Gabriel sighed, noticeably deflating.

“I didn’t want to get you involved. Never in my dreams would I have ever thought you would be the hero to stop me. Your appearance shocked me much more than Marinette’s did when she hugged you after I made you go on a rampage.”

“You did  _ WHAT _ to me?”

“I… decided to change your mind to help me. I swear it was for your best interest. Our best interest. I know how much you miss your mother, and I just wanted to bring her back.

“...”

“I know it will take a lot to get you to forgive me. I won’t act distant anymore. From now on, I will talk to you about saving your mother. I will tell you when I am missing her. This act that I’ve been keeping up, I will stop it now, for good.”

Adrien’s eyes welled up in tears, and he felt them fall down his cheeks. Gabriel walked over and embraced him, still whispering apologies in his ears. Adrien pushed him away gently and smiled. Next to him, Marinette couldn’t help but smile as well. 

“Father. If you are happy, then I will be fine. As long as we can stay a happy family with us two, together. If we can’t rescue Mother, and even if we can’t move on from her disappearance... I know we can stay happy and live a normal life. Please, no more plots to destroy Neo-Paris to save Mother.”

Gabriel patted the top of Adrien’s head with a contented look.

“I’m glad I have such a great son.”

The two embraced once again, and Marinette sat, beaming at their familial love.

After talking for a bit, the Agrestes sent Marinette back home, making sure that she had called home and told her parents that she was safe. Adrien made sure to schedule another date the next weekend. “Hopefully without any crazy villain attacks this time!” She had said with a twinkle in her eye, as she kissed him goodbye (out of the view of Mr. Agreste).

After the door closed, Adrien ran up to his father, who was already planning Adrien’s next photoshoot.

“Just between you and me, where does Marinette live? I have some shipments to make.”

The older man sighed. “How many clothes did you buy?”

“Ummmm… I’d rather not say.”


End file.
